A FIELD INVESTIGATION FOR THIS REPORT WAS CONDUCTED FROM SEPTEMBER TO DECEMBER 1964 THROUGH THE FACILITIES OF THE JOINT UNESCO-IAU RESEARCH OFFICE ON HIGHER EDUCATION IN KUALA LUMPUR. IN FIVE OF THE EIGHT COUNTRIES COVERD BY THE REPORT (MALAYSIA, THAILAND, CAMBODIA, SOUTH VIETNAM, AND THE PHILIPPINES), IT WAS POSSIBLE TO MAKE "FAIRLY EXTENSIVE LOCAL INVESTIGATIONS." FOR TECHNICAL REASONS, INDONESIA AND BURMA WERE NOT VISITED, AND PERTINENT DATA WERE GATHERED FROM THE KUALA LUMPUR RESEARCH OFFICE. MATERIAL ON LAOS (NOT IN THE ITINERARY) WAS COLLECTED IN THAILAND, CAMBODIA, AND SOUTH VIETNAM. THE BASIC ASSUMPTION OF THIS REPORT IS THAT THE POLICY OF EACH OF THESE COUNTRIES IN REGARD TO LANGUAGE IN GENERAL, AND IN RELATION TO HIGHER EDUCATION IN PARTICULAR, IS A STABLE FACTOR IN THE TOTAL SITUATION. THE COUNTRIES STUDIED PROVIDE A SPECTRUM OF CURRENT POLICIES, ALL SEEKING TO SOLVE ESSENTIALLY TWO MAJOR LANGUAGE PROBLEMS--(1) THE PROPAGATION OF THE NATIONAL LANGUAGE WITHIN THE COUNTRY, AND (2) THE ROLE OF LANGUAGES OF WIDER CURRENCY, FOR EXAMPLE, ENGLISH AND FRENCH. THE AUTHOR OUTLINES THE COMMON PROBLEMS, CURRENT SOLUTIONS, AND FUTURE OUTLOOK OF THE REGION AS A WHOLE BEFORE DEALING WITH EACH COUNTRY IN SEPARATE CHAPTERS. THIS REPORT WAS PUBLISHED BY THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITIES, 6 RUE FRANKLIN, PARIS 16E, FRANCE. (AMM)